The Masked Hero: DeCaliber
by Dragonduelist100
Summary: Ride into the worlds of the familiar and unfamiliar. Mask your emotions and fight your way through the chaos. The cards are set, and the targets are in sight. Load up, and become the Masked Hero: DeCaliber!
1. Prologue

If you could travel through countless worlds,

would you?

Would you subject yourself to the madness of dealing with every new reality that you enter?

Would you be able to handle the changes you would have to go through? Be it little or severe?

Would you be able to endure the evils of every new world you visit?

What if you had no other choice?

Would you accept it?

Would you fight it?

What if those very evils were the reason of your travels?

Would you continue to fight?

Would you flee?

What if it was to protect?

Would you step up to the challenge?

Would you still try to flee?

What if you were _given_ the power to protect?

Would you fight then?

Would you fight for justice, or would you abuse that power?

If you could travel through countless worlds, would you?

If you could put on a mask of power, and ride into the worlds of the familiar and the unknown, would you step up to protect the innocent?

And become a true Kamen Rider?


	2. Chapter 1 - The Strange Hooded Man

Disclaimer/ Kamen rider is owned by Bandai. All publically recognizable characters belong to their respective owners. Kamen Rider DeCaliber is created by me. Any other character sharing similarity to anyone else's creations are completely coincidental.

**The Masked Hero: DeCaliber**

CH 1: The Strange Hooded Man

_Hello, how may I serve you? No…that sounds so transparent… _A young woman was thinking to herself about her job. She was going over different greetings in her head as she made her way over to the restaurant she would soon be working in.

She walked at a steady pace, her dark brown hair bouncing up and down with every step she made. A few strands fell, and she brushed them away from her dark brown eyes. She was somewhere in her mid twenties, young and spry.

_How may I be of service? Nah, too formal, _she continued, putting a hand to her chin. _Come on Michelle, think… _She tapped her finger on her lip several times, thinking for a moment. _Hiya! What can I get for you? No…too peppy… _She let out a sigh, shrugging it off. _Whatever, I guess it doesn't really matter. It _is _my first day after all… _

Michelle had received the job a few days back. It would be the first job of her new life as an independent woman.

_At least…once I stop asking for money from my parents… _She sighed again. _Either way, progress is progress. _Humming to herself for the rest of the way, Michelle found her way over to the restaurant she was currently working at.

She opened the door, causing a small bell attached to ring as it swung open. She greeted one of the employees, and made her way into the employee waiting room, as she was still early for her shift today. She sat down on one of the chairs, relaxing a bit. She was already in her work uniform, so she didn't have to change.

She lazily rested her head on her shoulder, silently watching the TV monitor in the room. The news was currently on. She furrowed a brow, reading the headline for the current news report.

People mysteriously disappearing.

While this did put her at unease, what scared her most was the fact that it was fairly close to the city she lived in. Raising her head attentively, she listened to what the reporter had to say.

"It is definitely a strange case," the reporter said, "There seems to be no explanation for the disappearance of these people. The strangest part of this case is the _amount_ people gone missing. More than a dozen people have been reported missing. Investigators haven't commented on the case yet, only saying that they are working to solve it."

_More than a dozen? _Michelle thought to herself, _you've gotta be kidding. There's no way anyone could lose track of _that _many people… _Shaking her head, she continued to listen.

"We tried to talk to some residents of the area," the reporter continued, "but it seems that no one even has the slightest clue on what might have happened. Some weren't even aware of any persons' disappearances." They clipped to footage recorded prior to their live feed.

"Could you tell us anything you know about the strange disappearances in the area?" the reporter asked a man, holding out a microphone to him.

"Uhhh," he scratched the back of his head, "not really, no."

"Do you at least know about what's been happening?"

"Well I've heard rumors about it."

"What do they say?"

"Just…aliens," he replied simply, "ghosts, something supernatural. I don't really know myself."

The footage clipped again, this time to the reporter talking to an elderly lady.

"So what do you think about the strange disappearances happening in the area?" the reporter asked her.

"I've only heard stories," the woman replied, "but no one really knows for sure what's been happening."

"Do you have any ideas on what might be happening?" the reporter asked.

"I think it's all just some conspiracy," she replied, "The government's always had something to hide."

The footage cut back to the live feed, back to the reporter. "As you can see, no one is quite sure about what's going on, but one thing's for sure, there's something very suspicious going on. Reporting live for GBC, back to you guys in the studio." It then cut to a random segment, and Michelle was left to her thoughts.

_No one at all? _She put a hand to her chin. _How could so many people go missing and not even leave a single clue about how or why? _She shook her head. _This whole thing just stinks of a hoax. Probably just a mass prank or something… _

She looked up at the clock. _Oh, shoot, time to get to work. _Getting up from her seat, Michelle walked back out into the restaurant and started her day of work.

* * *

_Stupid lunch rush, _she thought to herself, _how am I supposed to keep track of so many orders? _She let out a frustrated sigh. _They're never gonna let me work there again… _

She kicked at the concrete sidewalk lightly. She was thoroughly irritated; her first day on the job had been pretty rough. It wasn't that bad the first few hours, being that there were only a few customers coming in.

Then 1:00 came…

_I swear, if I didn't want to depend on my parents for money anymore, I'd be _so _out of there… _She slowed her walking pace, calming down for a moment. _Alright, just gotta chill... First days are supposed to be like this. _

Suddenly, she felt her phone vibrate. She reached into her pocket and pulled it out. _Oh, text message from my boss. _She clicked open her message, and read it to herself. _Hey Michelle, I'm sorry your first day was so hectic. Lunch rushes can be much for first timers. You just gotta get in a bit more practice, and I'm sure tha-_

"Whoa!" Her thoughts were cut off suddenly by someone bumping into her, causing both of them to trip and fall to the floor. "H-hey!" she exclaimed, "why don't you watch where you're going?!" She looked behind her, seeing whoever had bumped into her.

"I-I'm sorry," the stranger apologized hastily, scrambling to get up. His initial appearance confused Michelle at first. The stranger was wearing a pair leather work gloves and boots, but wasn't wearing any sort of work clothes or uniform. Instead, he wore a grey hooded jacket, and a pair of worn down jeans. He faced to the side, his hood blocking Michelle's view of his face.

Before she could say anything else, the stranger took off with a running start. "H-hey wait!" she called out, "where do you think you're going?!"

"Sorry!" he called back as he ran, "I'm kinda in a hurry here!" He turned a corner, and he was gone.

"JERK!" she yelled. _The nerve of that guy, not even helping me back up. _Begrudgingly, she got back up to her feet, dusting herself off. She began to walk away before stopping. She had noticed something out of the corner of her eye. She turned around, seeing a small plastic rectangular box on the floor. She picked it up, and turned to the direction in which the stranger had dashed off to.

"Hey!" she called out, "I think you dropped something!" She waited for a moment, but the stranger never came. It was a vain attempt really, considering how urgently he had run off. She sighed, slipping it into her pocket. _I'll just hang onto it for now. I might run into him again. _After checking the ground for anything else, she nodded and continued walking herself back to her apartment.

It wasn't far from where she worked, so it didn't take long for her to return. Walking up the steps and up to her door, she slipped her card key out of her walled, and opened her door. Once she was through, she closed the door behind her and flopped on the couch with a sigh.

_What a day, _she thought to herself, _just a rollercoaster of ups and downs… _Her hands idly went to her sides, and she suddenly remembered that she still had the box in her pocket. Shrugging to herself, she pulled it out of her pocket, and inspected it.

_Wonder what this is for… _She turned it here and there, looking at it at different angles. It was relatively small, slightly larger than a credit card, but smaller than her phone. It felt a bit heavy for its size though, as if there was something metal inside the small plastic box.

Its design was interesting. Its base color was a bright yellow, with a few black and silver outlines here and there. There seemed to be a strange logo on the front of it, looking like a sort 'V' shape made up of parallel lines, with a small circle in the center. There were many grooves and ridges running through the sides and front. She shook it slightly, hearing a small rattle. Curious, she looked closer, finding an opening.

There was no way to completely open it, but there was a slot on the narrow side of it with a square cut on the top area. Taking a better look, it seemed to be a slot to remove and slide in cards. She stuck her thumb in, and gently slid out a card inside.

She blinked. _What's this for? Some kind of card game? _On the card, there was a picture of a gun, with a cloud of energy based blasts coming out of the barrel. She looked down at the text. It read; ATTACK RIDE: RAPID SHOT. Other than that, there wasn't any other sort of text. She noticed some bar codes running along the sides of the card. She looked at the back, and saw the same symbol she had seen on the front of the box.

She checked the box again, drawing out two other cards. One depicted the same gun firing an arc of shots, and the other one depicted a Honda CBR1000RR motorcycle, colored mainly of the same colors of the box. She checked the box one more time, but found it was empty.

_That's all? _she thought to herself, _just three cards for this one box? Seems like a waste of space to me… _She shrugged, and slid the cards back inside the small box, or rather, the card case. She got up and placed the case on her counter, and clicked on the TV. She flopped back onto her couch, and her cell phone rang. She slipped it out of her pocket, and answered it.

"Hello?" she greeted.

"Michelle?" a young, feminine voice began, "is that you?"

She smiled. "Hey Jenna." It was her friend, as well as one of her co workers.

"You doin alright?"

"Yeah, I think I'm alright."

"You still stressed about your day at work ?"

She thought for a moment. "A little, but not as much."

"Good to hear," her friend replied cheerily, "so anyways, have you heard from Peter lately? I've been texting him like crazy and he hasn't responded."

"Nnnno, haven't heard from him."

"Tch, figures." A sigh was heard over the other line. "Well, thanks anyways. I'll catch ya later at work alright?"

"Sure thing. See you then." A click was heard, and the call ended. She slid her phone back into her pocket, and settled back down. She suddenly remembered the news segment she had seen earlier that day. _Heh, he's probably taking part of that thing. I'm sure he'll tell me about it when he gets back. _She slumped more in her seat, and relaxed the rest of the day.

* * *

The next day found Michelle standing outside on the sidewalk. She was standing where she had bumped into the stranger from the day before. She hadn't found any sort of name tag or contact number on the case she had picked up, so she decided to wait around in the one area she had met him. She figured that he might come around and retrace his steps.

She looked from left to right, trying to scope out anyone that could match the description of him. _At least I think it's a him, _she thought to herself, _for all I know, it could've been some chick with a really low voice. _She thought back to what she _had _seen of him. _And what was with the gloves and boots anyways? He clearly wasn't part of any construction team or anything. And what was with the hood? Oy, maybe I shouldn't be doing this; he seems to be a pretty sketchy guy… _

She thought for a moment about leaving. The chances of bumping into him again were pretty slim anyways, and all she was returning was some plastic card case. Whoever it was who owned it could easily buy another one if he needed to. He'd only be missing three cards too, and she was sure he could replace them as well.

_No, _she stopped herself, _I should still try to return this. Besides, I shouldn't be judging him from my first impression of him. I'm sure he's a pretty nice guy if I actually get to know him. And he still owes me an apology for crashing into me. _She sat down on the ground, looking left and right again. With nothing much else to do, she let her mind wander about random things.

_I wonder if any of the missing people have decided to come out of hiding yet. _She stared up at the sky, watching the clouds roll by. _Wonder why they're hiding in the first place. Is there some sort of movie they're trying to promote or something? If they are, then I hope it's actually worth watching. _She crossed her legs, finding a more comfortable position to sit in. She sighed.

_Okay, maybe just a few more minutes of sitting here, and if he doesn't show, I'll just go back inside. _She looked around the area again, still finding nothing. _Uuuuuuughhhhhhhhhhhh, come oooooooonnnnnn, where are you? _

"Hey, you alright Michelle?" She stopped, turning to her right. Standing over her was a young, blonde haired man. She smiled. It was her friend, Peter. He smiled at her. "How've you been?"

"Peter?" she began, getting to her feet, "where have you been all this time?"

"Oh, you know, places," he replied dismissively. "So are you busy today? I just thought I'd spend a bit of time with you if you're free."

"Umm," she looked around her, still no sign of the stranger from before, "not anymore. Yeah, I can spend some time with you if you want."

"Great!" he said cheerily, clapping his hands together. "Follow me then, I know a great place to stop at."

"Sure thing, lead the way." With a nod, the two of them got moving. "So really though, where have you been? Jenna's been trying to get to you for forever."

"Oh…Jenna…" he looked to the side, "heh, well the funny thing is that my phone got busted up, so I had to get a new phone. Problem was I couldn't keep my old number, so everyone's been calling the wrong number."

"Couldn't you have called them?"

He shrugged. "I don't remember everyone's number. Besides, we barely talk to each other anyways."

"Yeah…I guess…" She looked onward. "Still though, it would've been nice to keep in touch with you. Especially now." She looked to him. "Have you heard about the people missing? I was starting to think you were one of them."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I've heard of them. Heh, I wouldn't worry about them though."

"Oh?" Michelle said, raising a brow, "and why would that be?"

Peter smiled again. "Just…trust me. It's nothing to be worried about."

"Is it all just a big prank?" she asked, "is it to promote something? Come oooonnn, just tell meeee. CLEARLY you have something to do with it." She pulled at his sleeve lightly, making him chuckle.

"It's nothing really," he replied, "I'll just tell you some other time."

She let out a sigh. "Fiiiiine, but you owe me an explanation." Peter laughed.

"I know, I know." He faced forward again, watching the road ahead as they walked.

"So where are we going anyways?" Michelle asked curiously.

"Oh, just a good spot to relax is all," he told her.

"If you wanted to relax, we could just go back to my place," said Michelle, "it's not too far from here."

"Nah, it's okay," he replied, "I like staying outside anyways. Besides, it's a nice day out today."

Michelle shrugged. "Can't argue with that. It is pretty nice out." She stretched her arms out, enjoying a cool breeze that passed through the pair. "So what have you been up to lately Pete?"

"Heh, still using that nickname huh?" He chuckled. "I don't really have much to say really. I've just been goin around, visiting different places, resolving some…personal issues."

"Issues?" They turned a corner.

"It's nothing really."

"Ooookay then mister mysterious," she said playfully, "anything else you've been up to?"

"Not really," he replied, "what about you? Have you been doing anything interesting lately?"

"Hardly," she laughed, "I got a job, but I did terrible on my first day. All I'm doing at this point is struggling to get all my bills paid."

"That's a shame," he said sympathetically, "I'm sure you'll get through it eventually."

"Yeah, well, one can only hope." They chuckled, turning another corner. "It is nice seeing you again though. It's been a while since we've actually been able to talk like this."

"It really has been a while, hasn't it?" They turned another corner. "I suppose I do have some catching up to do with you guys."

"That you do," Michelle chimed. "We've been friends since first grade after all."

Peter laughed. "That long ago huh? All those years of getting to know each other." He sighed. "Those were good times back then."

"Yeah, I sure do miss them." Michelle slid her hands into her pockets. "They were such simpler times. The only thing we ever had to worry about was homework and what to bring for lunch."

They laughed. "Yeah, good times." They turned one more corner before they finally stopped. "Well, this is it."

Michelle looked around. "This is where you like to relax? It seems so barren." The place was rather empty. They were standing in a wide sort of alleyway. None of the buildings around them had any sort of window. There were a few stores around, but all of them were pretty much abandoned. It was a very dreary and grey. "Is this really where you come to relax?"

"Yes," Peter replied, walking around the area a bit, "I always come here if I need some quiet time. It's the perfect place to think about things. No one can bother me. No one can hurt me. No one can hear the screams…"

"Um…s-screams?" Michelle asked, unsure if she had heard him correctly.

He smirked. "Let me ask you something. Do you know what it feels like to be betrayed by the ones you thought you knew?"

"What…do you mean?" She stepped back a bit. He was beginning to scare her.

"It's fairly simple. You get to know someone for a couple of years. You begin to develop attachments to them. Then, one day, they find a way to take your heart, and shatter it into a million pieces."

"Shatter your hea-P-Peter what are you saying? You're starting to scare me!" She took several more steps back, heart pounding in her chest.

He laughed. "Oh, I'm scaring you, am I? Why? Does the truth scare you?"

"Truth? W-what do you mean?"

"DON'T ACT SO NAÏVE!" he suddenly snapped, "YOU SHOULD KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I MEAN!"

Michelle stumbled back, falling to the floor. She quickly scrambled back to her feet as Peter slowly began to approach her.

"All those years of leading me on, making me think that I actually had a chance with going out with you. Then I _finally _work up the guts to ask you out, and WHAT DO YOU DO? You LAUGH at my face, REFUSING to take me seriously!" He paced around, making very ecstatic hand gestures as he talked.

"'You'll get over it' they say! 'There'll be another chance' they say! 'Just keep trying' they say!" He lashed out at the air with his hands at his last statement. "So I decide to wait, give myself some time to recover. Then I ask again, and _guess _what!" He whipped his head back in Michelle's direction. "You reject me AGAIN!" She took several steps back, her heart quickening in pace.

"So I wait again, I wait a bit longer this time, hoping that _maybe _this time will be different. So I ask again, and WHAT DO YOU KNOW! REJECTED YET AGAIN!" He paced around the area faster. "Time and time again, you've pushed me away, refusing to listen to my feelings. Then one day, I decide to ask ONE last time. I come to your home, only to find that you've decided to move out of your parents' home."

He looked her in the eyes, and her heart skipped a beat.

"You go on about keeping in touch with each other, and yet you never even bothered to tell me about when you moved out. Everyone else but me was told about it. Hell, your parents didn't even know who I was when I asked them. Now I know. Now I know the truth. You never really were my friend. You're just talk. Just like everyone else."

"E…everyone else?" she asked him, voice shuddering slightly.

"My parents," he began, listing them off, "my co-workers, neighbors, everyone who I _thought _were my friends, you're just another one of _them_." He remained silent for a moment, only staring at her with hatred.

She stared at him in horror, and suddenly, a terrifying thought came into her head. "Are…are you responsible for those missing people?" He smiled wickedly.

"They were all people that mistreated me, did wrong to me, or just annoyed me," he replied, "so I decided to get rid of them, once and for all."

Michelle fell to her knees, hands clasped over her mouth. _Oh my god, this can't be happening. It just can't be. It has to be a dream. Please just let this be a dream. _She pinched at her side, but she did not wake. She was stuck in this nightmare of a reality. "But…h-how? How were you able to do this so easily?" Again, another wicked smile spread across Peter's features.

"I was given power," he answered, "power like no one has ever seen before. Now that it's mine, I can do anything and everything I ever wanted to do, and no one can stop me." He licked his lips, sending a chill down Michelle's spine. "And you know what, I'm feeling rather hungry, and…you're looking rather appetizing." Michelle's heart skipped a beat. Wordlessly, Peter reached into his pocket, and pulled out a card.

He held it up next to his face, and she saw what seemed to be a werewolf on the card. He closed his eyes, and let out a blood curdling scream. Suddenly, the card began to glow, and a bright light shined out, forcing Michelle to shield her eyes. When the light settled, and she lowered her arm, she found herself in a state of shock.

Standing where Peter had once stood was a menacingly large beast, similar to the one on the card. Its armor was thick and heavy, enveloping its entire body. Its bright red eyes contrasted greatly with its dark grey body. Looking closer, she could see many darkly colored patterns along its form, reminding her vaguely of a stained glass window. Its teeth were long and vicious, and were almost as long as the claws that adorned its hands and feet.

It smiled, raised its clawed hand next to its head, and spoke with the voice of Peter. "Before I dine on your flesh, I'm going to tear you limb from limb."

At that, it charged at her, claws drawn and out. She quickly scrambled back in time to avoid a swipe at her head. She rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding a downwards swipe, and scrambled to her feet.

The monster turned in her direction, fixing its gaze upon her. She immediately turned and broke into a run in the other direction. She dared not look back as she heard the monster running after her, growling out with every step.

She turned a corner, almost slamming into the wall, and ran on. She heard the monster's feet slide past where she had turned. She knew that she had only bought herself a few seconds of time, bit every second counted now. She made another turn, running as hard as she could. Again, she heard the monster slide past the turn. It growled out, getting irritated with her tactic.

"This is pointless you know!" it shouted at her, "I'm going to catch you eventually!"

She didn't care. She just wanted to be away from him for as long as possible, even if she was just prolonging what she knew would be her eventual end. She turned another corner, running as hard as her legs would allow her to.

_If I can just make it to a public area, _she thought to herself frantically, _then maybe I'll have a chance at surviving. Just gotta remember how we got here. _Unfortunately, it was not a simple task. In her haste, she had run in a different direction than their original path. Every new turn just brought about more possible turns and alleys. She dared not look behind her out of fear of seeing her pursuer closing in on her.

"You can't hide from me!" the monster yelled out, "I have your scent! There's no where to run except into me or a wall!"

Michelle refused to shout back at it, fearing that it would give away her position. Her lungs were burning at this point, but she shrugged it off. She knew if she stopped, worse things would be happening. Panting hard, she turned another corner.

_Wait, is that… _She squinted her eyes, soon widening them afterwards. _It is! It's where we came from! I'm gonna make it! _She restrained herself from screaming for help, wanting to wait until she was out in the open. _Almost there. Almost there. Almost there. Almost there. Almost there. _

With one last burst of energy, she ran as hard as she could, and practically jumped out into the open. Stumbling a bit but quickly regaining balance, she looked around her, seeing that the monster was still among the forest of buildings.

"SOMEONE HELP!" she screamed out, cupping her hands around her mouth, "THERE'S SOMEONE OUT TO GET ME!" There were a few people around to hear her call, and she saw a few heads turn. She continued to call out, frantically looking around herself incase the monster had found her. She knew that she wouldn't have much time, so she began to run again, continuing to call out and rallying attention to herself.

"Miss?!" someone stopped her, running up to her, "are you alright?"

"Someone's trying to get me," she said, panicked and quick, "he's crazy and deranged and horrible and he's trying to kill me."

"Okay, okay, calm down," the man said, "what's happening? Are you being chased?"

"Yes!" she quickly replied, looking around her again.

"Alright, easy there," he tried to calm her, "listen to me. I'm gonna get you out of here. We'll get you to the police. They'll help you from there."

"Okay…okay…" she panted, looking around her another time. She saw several people stare at her from afar, but no wolf monster running after her. The two of them began to walk quickly. The man pulled out his phone, and dialed 911.

"Hello?" he said after his call was answered, "yes, there's an emergency over here. There seems to be someone chasing after a young girl. I have her with me and we're making our way over to the police department. Where are we now? 21 Venue Street… Okay…okay. Thank you, please hurry." He hung up, and turned to Michelle. "They're on their way. We just gotta keep walking. They'll meet us half way."

Michelle nodded dumbly, constantly checking behind her.

"Hey, hey, listen to me," the man said to her, grabbing her attention, "you need to calm down. What's your name? Can you tell me your name?"

"I…it's M-Michelle," she let out hesitantly, eyes flicking to the side and back to the man.

"Michelle?" he said, "that's a nice name. I'm Haru. Nice to meet ya." He held out his hand, keeping the hurried pace of their walk. It took a moment before Michelle reached out and shook it. Haru smiled at her. "So what do you like to do? Do you have any hobbies?"

"Uhh, n-not really," she replied, "I mean, I like to draw sometimes."

"Oh, you're an artist then?"

"N-no, just doodles and cartoons."

"Ah, that's nice. Do you play any sports?"

Michelle looked behind her, and back to Haru. "I play basketball when I can. Sometimes tennis."

"Ah, nice, nice. Are you any good?"

"M-more on basketball than tennis. W-working with the racket isn't something I'm good at."

"I see. Do you make a lot of shots?"

"Half of the time. I'm not really all that good at the-OH GOD STOP!" She grabbed his arm, halting their progress. Haru turned around, and gasped. A block ahead of them was the monster from before.

And it was charging at them.

"W…what the hell is that? Is that a costume or something?!"

Michelle shook her head. "No. That's him. That's the guy that was chasing me."

"A monster was chasing you?! And you didn't say anything about that?!"

"It's not like you would've believed me!" she shouted back, "anyways we have to get out of here!"

"No! I'll hold him off. You just get to safety," he said before running off towards the monster.

"NO WAIT!" Michelle shouted desperately, but he wouldn't stop.

"Over here ugly!" Haru shouted, cutting the monster off from his path. He slid to a stop.

"Don't get in my way!" he growled, baring his claws.

Haru tackled him back, making him stumble back several steps. The monster growled.

"Michelle! Just run!" Haru shouted, "I'll hold him off for as long as I can!" She hesitated, seemingly frozen on the spot. "What are you waiting for?! Just go! I'll be fine!" The monster swiped at him with his right claw. Haru parried his attack with both of his arms and shoved him back.

"I won't have you get in my way! MOVE!" He lashed out again, and ended up slicing the arm Haru used to block. He yelled out in pain, clutching his arm as blood began to leak from his wounds.

"HARU!" Michelle screamed.

Haru grunted as he tried to recover. "I won't let you do what you will!" He charged at the beast once more, tackling him harder. This time, the monster fell to the floor. Haru smirked in triumph.

"GrrrrRRRAAAAAAHHHHHH!" The monster roared out as he got to his feet. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU! IF YOU'RE GOING TO GET IN THE WAY OF MY MEAL, THEN I'LL JUST HAVE YOU AS THE APPETIZER! RRRAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" Suddenly, out of nowhere, a pair of large, translucent fangs materialized in the air. Then, without warning, the fangs came down upon Haru, sinking into either side of his neck.

"HARU!" Michelle screamed out. Haru staggered for a moment, unable to move.

"And now…" the monster raised his claw up, holding it next to his face, "mine." He clenched his fist and, in a horrifying spectacle, the fangs drained the color from Haru, leaving only the translucent frame of his body.

Michelle could only stare in horror as the fangs withdrew from Haru's neck. For a moment, he stood there, frozen, before he fell. Once he hit the ground, his body shattered into pieces, leaving only an empty sac of his clothes. She screamed.

"Ahhh," the monster sighed, rubbing his stomach, "tasty." He looked to Michelle. "See that? You're next. But not before I tear you to shreds." He slowly began to approach her, and she dashed off in the other direction. "Ha! Go ahead and run! It's only a matter of time until I catch you!" At that, he broke into a run, chasing after her.

Michelle heard several screams behind her as she ran. She tried hard to focus on trying to escape. _That…that thing, _she thought to herself, _that thing is Peter. He…he killed Haru. He…h-he killed everyone that's been missing… _She took another turn, and found herself in the middle of an outlet mall. She kept on running, trying her best to avoid running into people. She heard more screams behind her, and she could tell that he was getting closer.

_Just gotta keep running. Just keep running. Just keep running. Just ke- _

She tripped.

She hit the ground pretty hard, leaving her stunned for a moment. She shook her head as she tried to recollect herself, before suddenly being lifted up off of her feet, a strong hand clasped around her neck. She began to choke, and her hands went up to meet the hand that had begun to strangle her. Her eyes opened, and saw that it was Peter that had her in his grasp. She heard several people scream, and out of her peripheral vision saw people fleeing from the area.

"Now that I've got you," he hissed "I can finally start ripping your flesh." Michelle whimpered, trying desperately to free herself. "How should I start…? Hmmm…" He looked to the side, thinking for a moment. "Ah, I know." He looked her in the eyes. "How about I start with your legs?" He dropped her on the ground, causing the air to be knocked out of her. As she tried to breathe, he grabbed a leg and lifted it up, drawing his claws. "Now don't worry, I'll be sure to do this nice and slow…" He raised his arm up, poised to strike. "And now, we begi-GRAH!" Peter was cut off mid-sentence as something blasted him off of his feet. He groaned as he tried to pick himself up. Michelle looked over to the side in a dazed state, still having difficulty breathing.

Out of blurred vision, she saw someone running towards them, holding a rather sizable hand-gun, which was bright yellow in color. The person was wearing a hood over his face, wearing both gloves, and boots.

The hooded man from before.

"Who the hell?" Peter growled, "Who do you think you-ARGH!" He exclaimed again as he was blasted back, making him stagger back several steps. This bought Michelle enough time to recollect herself, and scramble back to her feet. "H-Hey! Get back he-GAH!" He was blasted off of his feet, making him hit the floor with a thud. The hooded stranger ran past her before stopping several feet in front of her, holding his free hand out to the side of him in a protective manner.

"Are you alright?" the stranger asked, turning his head slightly in her direction. Still, his hood hid his face from her.

"Y-yeah, I'm alright," she answered hesitantly.

"Urgh…" Peter groaned, regaining his footing, "you little bastard, you'll pay for that."

"You need to run," the man instructed Michelle, "I'll make sure he doesn't reach you."

"Are you kidding me?!" she exclaimed, "You're not planning to _fight _him, are you?!"

"Don't worry about me, just run!" She hesitated, unsure of what to do. She shook her head. She needed to be rational about this. She wouldn't be able to fight Peter with her own bare hands. She hated it, but she ran off, leaving him to fight the beast on his own. She hid in a safe area to watch from afar.

"GET BACK HERE!" Peter roared, running after her in pursuit. The stranger cut him off, holding the gun in both hands and firing several shots, causing Peter to stagger. Seeing him stunned, the stranger ran up to him, swinging at his head with the barrel of his gun. However, it accomplished little more than angering Peter further.

"GRAH!" he growled out, back handing the stranger and sending him rolling on the floor several feet away. "Just stay OUT OF MY WAY!" He raised his arm up, creating a ball of energy in his hand. "RAH!" He threw the ball at the stranger, hitting the floor in front of him and sending him flying back further.

"Ah!" he grunted as he hit the floor hard, hood falling away from him. He slowly tried to get back up.

"Damn," said Peter, "still can't use it properly. Whatever, I won't miss the second-WHAT THE HELL?!"

Michelle gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.

Peter pointed at him. "What…what the hell are you?" The stranger brushed himself off, rising to his feet fully. Standing before them was not a man, but rather, a black panther, an anthro panther to be precise. "What…what kind of a freak are you supposed to be?!"

The panther smirked. "Funny words coming from the one that's walking around, KILLING innocent bystanders."

Peter chuffed. "They weren't innocent, they were all people that annoyed me and hurt me. Getting rid of them was a justice in my eyes."

"Hmph, I rest my case."

Peter growled. "Who are you to say who is innocent or not? Are you supposed to be some other-worldly judge or something?"

"No," he replied, shaking his head, "but I guess you can call me a guardian of sorts, protecting people from the likes of you, the _real _freaks." He took a confident step forward, standing up proudly. "My name is Rai Vagabound, and I'm going to stop you!"

"Confident little prick," Peter growled, "JUST GO AHEAD AND TRY!" He roared out as he charged at him again. Rai took up the challenge as he charged at him head on, tackling him back upon impact. The both fell back, rolling to the floor.

Quickly recovering, Rai held up his gun with both hands and fired at Peter several times. He shielded himself with both arms, staggering back several steps. He gathered energy in his hand, creating another ball of energy, and hurled it at Rai. He quickly evaded by rolling to the side.

"Dammit," Peter cursed, "I'm already wearing out. I need another meal." A smile crossed over his muzzle, "and what better meal for a hungry wolf than a cat?"

As Rai tried to get back up, the fangs from before rematerialized above him. He caught a glimpse of them out of the corners of his eyes, and was able to dodge them as they shot towards him.

"Bah, stay still why don't you?!" Peter growled out as he continued to try and catch him with his fangs. Rai jumped out of the way of another lash at him, and rolled to the floor. He aimed his gun from where he lay, and blasted a fang. It shattered into pieces, making Peter recoil in pain. "DAMN! RAH!" He lashed out blindly with his remaining fang, which was too fast for Rai to react to. It pierced into his arm, making him cry out in pain. "Hah! Now I've got-guh, UGH!" The fang withdrew, and Peter staggered back several steps.

"UGH! You taste like shit!" He spit on the floor, his translucent fang fading away. "WHY DO YOU TASTE LIKE SHI-GAH!" Rai shot him down again, though with much difficulty due to his injured arm. The panther staggered back to his feet, clutching his bleeding arm with his left hand, and holding his gun up with his right. He grimaced, baring his teeth as he tried to ignore the pain.

Peter got back up, growling angrily as he glared at him. "This is getting REALLY irritating cat. Why don't you just make it easier on yourself and point that gun at your head?"

"Not if it means letting you run rampant," Rai retorted, "I'd sooner eat my own tail before I'd do that."

Peter gave him a strange look. "…Bu-"

"It's underneath my clothes."

"Tch, whatever," Peter chuffed, "it's not like it matters. I'll just tear you apart like I plan to do with that bitch when I find her."

"Why are you so insistent on trying to kill her anyways?" Rai asked, narrowing his eyes at him.

"Hah, as if I have to tell you. Besides, I already went through explaining it once with her, and I'm not in the mood to be going through telling it again. You can ask her when you meet up with her. You know, in HELL!" He gathered another ball of energy in his hand, and chucked it at the panther.

Rai jumped back to avoid the attack. However, once it hit the floor, it blew him back several feet, and kicked up a large dust cloud. He rolled to the floor, groaning.

"Dammit," Peter cursed, shielding his eyes with his arm, "did I get him?" He tried to wave off the dust as he waited for it to clear. He growled, not wanting to wait. He sniffed him out, and found his relative location. He charged at him, and pounced, only to find empty ground. "WHAT?!" He looked around, dust finally clearing. He looked down at his feet. "Tch, it was just his blood." He looked around, trying to sniff him out again. "Now where could you have slunk off to?"

* * *

"Easy, easy," said Michelle as she helped Rai sit himself down against the wall. Having had enough spectating, she used the cover of the dust cloud to run in and help the strange panther man to escape to a safer area. They were hiding near a flower shop to try and mask their scent. She knew that it wouldn't hide them for long, but it still bought them time.

"Why are you still here?" Rai growled, his amber yellow eyes staring daggers into her as he glared at her, "I told you to get out of here. It's not safe."

"I…I couldn't just leave you there," she defended herself, drawing back slightly from the panther, "it just wouldn't feel right."

"Rrrahhh," he grumbled, looking away from her, "even so, it wasn't very smart to stick around here, especially considering that our pal over there was coming after you in the first place."

"Well, I'm here now."

Rai sighed, clutching his wound a bit more tightly. He scanned the area around them, checking to make sure if Peter was still away. Michelle looked at him with concern.

"Umm," she began hesitantly, "M…Mister Rai?"

"What is it?" he said, still facing away from her.

"Are you…gonna be alright?" He sighed, ears flattening against his skull.

"I'm…I'm not sure really," he replied grimly, "that fang…it got me pretty badly." He tightened his grip on his arm, blood trickling past his leather glove and down his sleeve. He grimaced, jaw tightening and eyes squinting. "Honestly though, this doesn't normally happen to me."

"Huh?" said Michelle, head tilting slightly.

"Baaahhh," he breathed out distressingly, slumping against the wall, "if I just had my clip I'd be just fine, and I wouldn't be in this predicament in the_ first_ place… And I _had _to go ahead and lose it…"

_Clip? _Michelle thought to herself, something suddenly clicking in her mind. She thought for a moment. _Where did I…_ Her eyes wandered over to Rai's hand gun. It looked fairly odd, having a bright yellow color which made it appear like some sort of toy. On the side of its enlarged barrel was a flat surface, appearing to be some sort of compartment for something no bigger than a phone. More to the back of the side was a small bar code looking symbol. And on the back of the gun, above the handle was a slot of some sort, which seemed to be more appropriate for nothing other than…

_Wait a sec! _She reached into her pocket, and pulled out the card box from before. _I completely forgot I had this. _She looked up at Rai, and gently poked his shoulder. "Umm, is this…what you mean?"

"Hm?" he said, turning to her. He looked down at her hand, and his eyes widened. "Wh-wh-what?!" He looked up at her questioningly. "Wh-where did you find this?! A-and when did you-"

"You dropped it when you crashed into me," she cut him off, "and you ran off before I could give it back."

"Wait, that was you?!" He asked ecstatically. She nodded in response. Rai stared at her for a moment, muzzle gaping open. He turned his head away from her, staring down at his lap. He shook his head, and smiled. "Psch, of all the things to occur, I didn't expect this to be one of them." He chuckled, looking up at the sky. He sighed happily, and turned back to her. "And to think I tried to get you to flee."

She smiled nervously. "So…you're going to be alright then?"

"Yeah," he replied, smiling at her, "I'll be just fine now. But first…" He slowly let go of his arm, and slipped off his glove. "Can you help me tie this around my arm?"

Hesitating only briefly, she moved over to his right side, and carefully but securely tied the glove around the panther's wound. She handed him the card "clip," and helped him back up to his feet. She looked up at him. "So…what are you going to do now?"

"Well," he began, looking to the side, "I can't let that guy run around and hurt anyone else."

"You're gonna fight him again?!" she exclaimed, having a double take. "But that's stupid! Are you already forgetting what he did to your arm?!"

He smiled at her, talking to her in a calm manner. "Don't worry, I said I'd be fine. Now," he put on a more serious expression, "I'm gonna go out there. I can't stop you from staying here, but I need you to stay somewhere safe. Can you do that for me?"

Michelle hesitated, but nodded soon after. He nodded back to her, and started for the other way. "W-wait!" He stopped. "Wh…what are you going to do? The only thing that's different is that box of cards!"

He smirked. "Just trust me. They're more than that."

* * *

"COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!" Peter roared out, turning another corner. He smelled that the panther-morph was near, but couldn't find him. "JUST COME OUT ALREADY YOU BASTARD!"

"Over here!" Rai shouted, making Peter turn around abruptly.

"There you are!" he growled, "decided to stop being such a pu-"

"Just don't go there," Rai cut him off, "I get called that _way _too much already."

"Tch, whatever," Peter replied, "so are you ready to be prey now?"

Rai smirked. "Hardly. In fact…" He held up his card clip across his chest with his left hand, symbol out at the front, "this is where I stop you."

"Hah, as if," Peter retorted, "how are you gonna beat me in the shitty condition you're in now?"

"With this." At that, Rai straightened out his arm, holding his gun out in front of him. He turned it to the side with the compartment, and clicked his card clip in place, with the slotted end towards him. Once it was in, he slammed it into the gun with his fist, locking it inside.

_KAMEN RIDE_

"Huh?" said Peter, head cocking to the side. "The hell do you think you're doing?"

Rai smirked. "Just makin' this cinematic." He slowly brought the gun over his head, aiming it towards the sky. "HENSHIN!" He pulled the trigger, firing a shot into the sky.

_D-D-D-DECALIBER!_

Suddenly, a bright light shined out, and Rai's entire body was encased in a sort of armor, completely gray in color. His head was suddenly encased inside a helmet, with a small scope-looking protrusion coming out of the fore-head. From the sky, several card-looking objects dropped down into Rai's helmet, forming a sort of visor, forming a blocky 'V' around the scope. Then, the frame of his armor suddenly gained color, taking on the same color as that of the gun and his card clip. A surge of energy burst out, completing the transformation.

"Wh…what the…" Peter was at a loss of words. "Did…did you just transform?!"

"Ah," Rai sighed, circling his arm, "my arm feels _much _better. So now, HAH!" he suddenly flicked his arm up, firing a shot at Peter single handedly. The blast hit him hard, and sent him to the floor. "Now I can get back to business! Haaaaaaahh!" He charged at Peter as he staggered back to his feet. Once he was close enough, Rai swung the barrel of his gun at Peter's head, this time succeeding in actually hurting him. The beast stepped back two steps, and Rai high kicked him with his left, sending him rolling on the floor.

"GRAH!" Peter growled out, quickly getting to his feet. "You'll pay for that!"

"Oh, you don't like that?" Rai retorted, tilting his armored head slightly, "Well then how 'bout this?!" His hand went to the side of his gun, slipping a card out from the slot of the clip. He loaded it into the back of his gun.

_ATTACK RIDE: RAPID SHOT!_

He quickly aimed his gun at the monster, holding down the trigger. This time, instead of a single shot coming out, a barrage of blasts shot out at Peter, blasting him off his feet.

"How 'bout some more!" His hand went to the side of his gun again, drawing out another card. He loaded it in.

_COMBO ATTACK RIDE: SPREAD SHOT!_

This time, Rai aimed his gun upwards. He held down the trigger, and launched a barrage of powerful blasts to the sky. They arced downwards, and rained down upon Peter as he tried to get back up.

"Graaaahhh!" Peter exclaimed as he was pelted down by blast after blast. When the countless attacks finally ceased, he slumped over on the floor, remaining still. Rai kept his gun aimed at him, keeping his distance from him. His right arm held his gun, and his left was at his side. Peter stirred, and staggered to his feet.

"It's time to give up," Rai shouted to him, "now undo your transformation and hand over the card."

Peter didn't reply for a while, staring down at his feet silently. "Don't…don't," he growled, clenching his fists, his head shot up, eyes glowing red with hatred, "DON'T TELL ME WHAT TO DO! GRAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!" He lashed out wildly where he stood, and a bright light enveloped his body. Once it faded, his claws had become curved and elongated, his fangs had enlarged to twice their original size, and his body changed from its pale stain-glass coloring to completely black. He roared out, lashing out in random directions. Rai took a step back.

"Damn," he cursed under his breath, "he went berserk." Peter's eyes locked with Rai, and he charged at the armored panther-man. Rai fired several shots, but the beast just ran through, enduring the shots and charging through. He reached him, and swiped down at him, slashing at his torso.

Rai cried out as he slashed at his armor, sending sparks flying with every blow. He was sent flying back by an upwards slash, landing on the floor with a hard thud. He quickly recovered, and thrust his gun out, letting out several shots. Peter shielded himself with an arm, and charged at him again. Rai hastily rolled out of the way, and got to his feet.

"Alright," he said to himself, "time to even the odds_._" He clicked a button at the side of the gun, causing the two cards he inserted before to eject. He slid them out, slipping them back into his card clip. He dodged another swipe at his head, and kicked him away. His hand went to his left side, reaching for a small compartment attached to his belt. He drew out a card, bringing it up to his face. He nodded in confirmation, and loaded it into the gun.

_KAMEN RIDE_

The beast charged at Rai again, roaring out. Rai aimed it at him, and pulled the trigger.

_SAGA!_

The blast of energy stopped Peter in his tracks. This time though, rather than the energy simply fading, it began to materialize, forming another armored warrior, this one wearing armor similar to that of Peter's. The new warrior appeared to be wearing a sort of crown upon his helmet, giving him a very king-like appearance. He was armed with a red-bladed rapier, and nothing more.

"Hold him off!" Rai commanded him. The warrior nodded, and charged at Peter. Once he was close enough, he swung down to his left, slashing the monster in the chest. He staggered slightly, but retaliated with a swipe across to his right, making the warrior fall back. He rolled away, avoiding a swipe to his head, and backed up several steps. He thrust his rapier out to the side, and the blade elongated, becoming a sort of whip. He swung it around, and whipped it towards Peter. The red rope snared around his midsection, and the warrior used both of his arms to fling him into the air.

"Gah!" Peter cried out as he hit a building, leaving sizable cracks on the wall. He fell to the floor with a hard thud. He groaned as he got back up, growling at his two opponents. The warrior thrust the handle of his whip to the side, and the rope re-shaped itself back to its original shape, forming the blade of the rapier once more. He took an "En garde" stance. They charged at each other once more, blade meeting claw and slash meeting slash.

"Time to lend him some help," Rai said to himself, and reached into his compartment again, and drew out another card. He slid it into the slot of his gun.

_COMBO KAMEN RIDE_

He aimed his gun down to his right, and fired.

_IXA!_

The blast of energy stopped where he fired, and materialized into another armored warrior, armed with a sort of sword-gun hybrid, and with a set of armor more technical and advanced than that of his predecessor. The new warrior charged forward, holding his sword out to his side. The first warrior anticipated this, and quickly moved out of the way. With his path cleared, the new warrior slashed out hard at Peter, slicing across to his left. This stunned the beast, and both warriors used this opportunity to restrain him, using their blades to lock Peter's arms behind them.

"Just keep him there guys!" Rai shouted. His free hand went to the back of his gun. Grabbing the back panel, he cocked the gun.

_ATTACK RIDE: BLAST!_

Rai held down the trigger, and the gun began to charge up with energy. He held the gun up, this time using both hands. Peter fought hard to free himself, but the warriors kept him where he stood. Bracing himself, Rai let go of the trigger, and a torrent of energy blasted out of the barrel. The two warriors faded, and Peter was met with a powerful force.

He was blown back, and slammed into a wall, nearly crashing through it. He fell to the ground, but still managed to get back up, the blast seeming to have only angered him further. He charged at Rai, who jumped back to avoid several swipes at his head. He rolled away, and fired at Peter's head to stun him for a moment.

Rai pressed the button on the side of his gun, ejecting the two cards he inserted before. He slid them back into his belt compartment, and parried a swipe at his chest. He high kicked Peter, making him stumble back. Rai backed up, firing more shots at Peter's head to give himself more space.

"Still got more in ya huh?" he said, "Well then, I've got one last card just for you." He drew out another card from his belt compartment, and flicked it in.

_KAMEN RIDE_

He aimed up towards the sky, and fired.

_KIVA!_

The blast of energy came down on Rai, and his armor began to shift and change. Once it was done, he was completely different. His armor had become primarily black, with crimson red enveloping his torso, head, and hands. His right leg was chained up, seeming to contain something underneath. His helmet shape had also changed, the visor becoming bright yellow, and almost forming the shape of fangs. Even his belt had changed entirely, taking on the same crimson red as his torso. Clipped to the front seemed to be a small golden bat-like creature. The only items that remained constant from his original form were his hand gun, and the card compartment at the side of his belt.

Rai crouched down slightly, splaying his arms out to his sides. With a flick of his wrist, he charged forward. The monster swung at him with a wide side swipe from his right. Rai flicked his arm up, blocking and holding his forearm against his own. Acting fast, he thrust his gun out, all but stabbing it into Peter's forehead. He pulled the trigger, firing at point blank.

"GRAH!" he roared out as he staggered back from the blast. Rai turned on his heels, and round house kicked him with his right. Peter fell over, hitting the floor with a hard thud. After straightening himself out, Rai backed up several steps, aiming his gun at Peter. The beast got back up, and started at him. Rai stopped him in his tracks by firing at his feet.

_Just gotta buy more time, _Rai thought to himself, _should only be a few more seconds… _Peter charged at him again, lashing out at him wildly. Rai did his best to avoid them, blasting at his arms to parry his attacks. He leaned out of the way of another swipe and kicked him back.

Suddenly, the clip on his side began to glow faintly. He blasted Peter in the face with several shots, stunning him momentarily. His left hand went to his side, and drew out a new card. He checked it, and nodded in satisfaction. He flicked it in.

_FORM RIDE_

Once again, he aimed towards the sky, and fired.

_GARULU FORM!_

Seemingly out of nowhere, a strange mantle of sorts appeared before him. He grabbed onto it with his left, and the mantle began to unfold, opening up and forming a large, curvy blade, with the hilt in a shape of a wolf head. Then, the eyes of the wolf flashed, and his arm became incased with chains, not ceasing to encircle him until his entire arm was encased with chains. When it finally stopped, the chains burst off of him, revealing a new armor encasing his arm, colored mainly of blue, with the shoulder guards almost appearing as fur.

A new set of chains snared around his torso, encasing him in the same way it encased his arm. They stopped encircling him, and burst off of his body, revealing a new armor similar to that of his arm, taking on the same color as well. Then, a wolf-like beast, much similar to the one that stood before him, appeared behind him. It came upon his body, biting down on his head. It phased through him, and melted into his body. Once it faded, Rai's visor changed color, now a deep shade of blue, once again matching that of his arm and torso.

Rai growled out, slashing wildly with his new blade and hitting the floor, crouching down in a position similar to that of an animal, preparing to pounce on its prey, sword out in front and hand gun to his side. "Time for the hunter to be hunted!" He charged forward, and slashed out at Peter's torso, crossing from left to right to left again in an endless 'X.' After a downwards slash to his right, Rai turned the blade with his wrist, and made a hard slash across to his left, sending Peter flying back.

Peter soon recovered, and charged at Rai, lunging at him with his right claw. Rai avoided by jumping over him, flipping in the air, and landing on his feet in a crouch. Turning on his heels, Rai circled around and slashed down on the beast's back, quickly following up with several shots from his gun. Once again, Peter was sent flying, landing several yards away from Rai. He groaned, struggling to rise to his feet.

"Time to end this," Rai declared, lowering his gun in front of him. He used his two upper fingers and his thumb to hold onto the back panel, and cocked it.

_ATTACK RIDE: BLAST!_

"WAIT!" he heard someone call out. He turned to the direction of the sound. It was Michelle, having come out of her hiding spot. "HE'S…he's my friend…just…let me talk to him…" Rai hesitated, before letting out a sigh. He relaxed his arms, and nodded. She looked over to Peter, not daring to approach. "Peter? …Peter can you hear me?"

Peter groaned, bracing himself on his paws. "Rrrruuuugghhhh…M-Michelle…"

"Peter…" Michelle let out, "please just…you need to give up."

"Give…up?" He staggered as he tried to rise, but only succeeded in kneeling. The color began to return to his armor, once again giving him a stained glass appearance.

"Yes," Michelle pleaded, "I know you've done some terrible things, but…" She choked, struggling to get her words out. "PLEASE! JUST STOP!"

"Stop?" said Peter, cocking his head to the side. "I'm…" he coughed, "I'm…I'm not going to stop. Are you kidding me?" His head shot up, his red, beady eyes staring right into her. "I WON'T STOP UNTIL YOU'RE DEAD IN THE GROUND!"

Michelle closed her eyes, holding back her tears. She looked to Rai, and gave him one final nod. Giving her a nod of his own, he turned back to the exhausted beast.

"You won't be claiming anyone else, beast," he told him, pointing his blade at him. He held down the trigger of his gun, and it began to charge. "That much I can assure you."

"RAHHHH! JUST SHUT UP AND DIE!" Peter stood with as much strength as he could muster. He brought his arm up, and gathered a ball of energy. He roared out and hurled it towards Rai. He easily parried it, batting it away with the broad side of his blade, and deflecting it back towards Peter. It slammed into the ground in front of him, stunning him momentarily. Using this bought time, Rai twirled his blade around, before bringing it near his waist. He lowered it to the bat on his belt, and it bit down on the blade.

~GARULU BITE!~

The sword began to glow, and the bat let go of the blade. Suddenly, clouds began to envelop the sky, completely blocking the sun. When they faded, it had changed from day, to night. Rai twirled his blade around again, and raised the handle to his jaw. Through his helmet, he bit down on it, holding it with his jaw, with the bladed end out to his left. He crouched down, growling and ready to pounce.

"GRAAAAAHHHHH!" Peter roared out as he burst through the cloud of dust, intending to kill his opposition once and for all. Once he was within reach, he lashed out at Rai. He avoided by jumping from his crouched position, and leapt into the air. He let go of his trigger, and blasted Peter with a charged up force. He cried out as he was impacted again, and staggered where he stood. The force of the blast caused Rai to fly up further into the sky. He began to twirl around, gradually picking up speed until he was as fast as he could.

"GARULU HOLWING SLASH!" Rai cried out through clenched teeth as he came down upon him. The blade made contact with Peter's forehead, slicing straight through him and straight down his body. Rai landed on his feet in a crouch, left hand bracing himself and his gun out to his side. Peter staggered back, his form beginning to crack and break. A bright light shined from where he was slashed, and was beginning to slowly open.

"Damn you…all to…hell…" His arms fell limp, and he fell to his knees. The light shined brighter, and he roared out before shattering into a million pieces. Once the light faded, the collapsed form of his human body fell to the floor, and a card fluttered down to the floor.

Rai stood back up as night slowly returned to day, straightening himself and removing the blade from his mouth. Using his thumb, Rai pressed on the button at the side of his gun, and the blade, along with his extra armor faded away, returning his armor back to its base form.

The card he slotted in before slid out, and he picked it out of the slot. He slid it into the compartment at his side, and pressed the button again. His armor began to glow, and it faded away, returning him to the bright yellow armor he wore before. Once again, the card he used before popped out of the gun. He took it out, and slid it into his compartment.

Nodding to himself, he looked down at where Peter's card had fallen. He knelt down, and picked it up. He raised it closer to his face and inspected it.

"KAIJIN RIDE: WOLF FANGIRE," it read. Rai sighed, shaking his head. _Just where are these stupid things coming from…? _He stood back up, and threw the card into the air. As it began to fall, Rai shot it out of the air, reducing it to nothing but ash. He lowered his gun down to his side, and looked down at Peter's body.

Michelle hurried over to the two of them. "Is…is he…" Rai knelt down, using his index finger and middle finger to feel at the side of Peter's neck.

"He's alive," he announced, "just unconscious." Michelle let out a sigh of relief, surprising herself with the concern she had for him. Rai stood back up, and removed his card clip from the side of the gun. His armor became translucent, before fading away from his body, leaving him in his normal clothes.

He removed the glove tied around him, and looked at his arm, mainly at the cut portion of his sleeve. His arm had completely healed, and the gash from before was nothing but a distant memory. Satisfied, he holstered his gun, and looked to Michelle, who he had questions for himself.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked her, "Why were you concerned for his safety? Wasn't he trying to kill you?" She simply shrugged, kneeling down and looking at Peter.

"I dunno," she replied, sighing, "I guess it's cuz we used to be such great friends…"

"So what happened then?" She let out another sigh before replying.

"I guess…love blinds. He was really hurt and ended up turning to the wrong people…" She put her hand to her chin. "But…just _how _did he end up getting that kind of power?"

Rai scratched the back of his head, looking off to the side. "That's something I'm still trying to find out." Michelle looked up at him with a confused expression on her features. "I don't know how these things keep popping up, and yet I've been hunting these creatures for a lo-" He stopped, ears perking up. He looked off to the right, flattening one ear against his skull and opening his other one more widely. "Crap, no time for me to explain. Right now I gotta scram."

He walked over several steps before stopping. He reached into his card clip, and slipped out another card. He loaded it into his gun.

_SUMMON RIDE_

He aimed several feet in front of him, and fired.

_DCD WHEEL!_

The blast of energy stopped where he fired, and began to solidify, forming a motorcycle. He grabbed the helmet on top of the seat, and slipped it on. He got onto the seat, and revved up his cycle.

"H-hey wait a sec!" Michelle exclaimed, "Where do you think you're going?"

"I gotta go," he said hastily, "I can't be taken in by them."

"What do you me-" She stopped, suddenly hearing the sounds of sirens.

"Sorry, but I really gotta go," he said again, turning away and revving his bike once more.

"Now hold on!" Michelle shouted over the roar of the engine, "You still need to explain a bunch of stuff to me!"

"Eh?" he replied, confused, "B-but I really gotta go!"

"Well then I'm coming with you!" she shouted at him, "you still owe me an apology after all!"

Rai growled. "Fine, just hurry up and hop on." She smiled, and took her seat behind him. "Hold on tight," he instructed her, revving his motorcycle before finally riding off, dashing away as the cops arrived on scene, coming across the destruction of the area, and the unconscious body of Peter.


	3. CH 1 post commentary

Hello everyone! Thanks a bunch for checking out my story. I just wanted to say some quick things.

First, I was rather worried when I posted this story, mainly due to my choice in my character choice for the Rider himself. Specifically, his species. Here on the internet, I've learned that furries aren't usually accepted. Hopefully, that won't stop anyone from enjoying the story.

Second, I'll work on this story regardless of whether or not it is popular. It's something I've been thinking about for a while, so I want to get my ideas out there.

Third, for those of you who know how Decade works, I don't have much intention of having Rai visit all of the different rider worlds. Instead, I'm planning to take a different approach. (And for the record, I haven't watched Decade fully through. XP)

Finally, someone pointed out that I should post concept art for what DeCaliber actually looks like. It's actually a pretty good idea, and I had already drawn him out before hand. Other things like his actual character and his gun haven't been drawn yet, so I'll get on that whenever I can. I've posted my stuff on my FA account, so feel free to check out anything else I have there.


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